Breakpoint 2021 is a 2-day virtual summit on software quality. We're bringing speakers—dev, QA and open source experts—to talk about how the best engineering teams ship quality software at scale.
Noemi Ferrera is a technology enthusiast and a results-oriented Computer Scientist. She is always striving for quality, automation and tooling creation to simplify the entire development process. Noemi enjoys speaking at global conferences and applying new technologies such as AI and VR to testing.
Can you tell us about your role at Amazon?
My role as a Software Dev Engineer II-Test involves creating and integrating tools and frameworks that are aimed at increasing the quality and speed of software development.
Can you give us a sneak-peek into your session for Breakpoint 2021?
In this talk, I will be talking about test case decisions—which tests to run, fix or create. There will also be an introduction to AI.
Is there a favorite project/side project in testing/tech you’ve worked on recently?
I'm currently working on a book in which I will talk about the cool side projects I like working on, hoping to inspire others with it!
What got you interested in AI and VR? Can you recall your first encounter with these concepts?
I have worked with both. I have been interested in these concepts since I was very little. While I was pursuing my Computer Science degree, I had some projects related to AI and I continued to work on them throughout my career, whenever I had the chance.
VR was a concept harder to work on, until recently, thanks to the increasing speed on the hardware and better devices. However, I had jumped right into it when I got the chance some years back.
Can you tell us a bit about how did you approach public speaking initially, and help those who want to get started?
It's a challenge. Speaking itself is not difficult, but meeting many new people can be very tiresome. One thing I struggle the most with is to start a conversation. So, I really enjoy it when someone comes over after my talk and we can have a chat about the concepts, especially when they find it useful. This gives me the energy and strength to do it. Even if I help one person, it's all worth it! Besides that, speaking gives you the opportunity to meet other speakers too, which I would have struggled to approach otherwise.
What advice would you give to the women who are in the tech/software space?
I don't believe there is a "one size fits all" advice for women. But if I have to pick, I would say that one must find support and mentoring groups, the right people, and stay passionate and true to yourself.
